Delhi Govt releases draft Electric Vehicle Policy

The Delhi government on Tuesday released the draft Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, 2018, for public comments. The development came in the wake of the government, on Monday, flagging off the second electric bus for trial in the Capital.

The policy, the government said in a statement, recognised that a “new approach” was required to kick-start Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption in Delhi and sought to put in place several measures that address the “key hurdles to EV adoption” and, simultaneously, target that 25% of all new vehicle registrations be electric by the year 2023.

“About 30% of particulate pollution in winter is caused by vehicles. Rapid adoption of zero-emission electric vehicles is therefore of great importance to Delhi. Recognising the need for a new approach to kick-start electric vehicle adoption, we have drafted a comprehensive Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy with an aim to make Delhi a leader in adoption of electric vehicles. We believe that going electric and breathing better are two sides of the same coin,” said Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot.

According to the statement, the Delhi government, through the policy, had planned to create a significant corpus of funds to incentivise every vehicle segment in addition to similar incentives being offered by the Government of India as part of the Scheme for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles.

For electric two-wheelers, for instance, the Delhi government would offer a subsidy up to ₹22,000 on purchase of e-two-wheelers to ensure their cost is less than or equal to petrol two-wheelers. For electric auto rickshaws, it would offer an open permit system for e-autos in Delhi and down payment subsidy up to ₹12,500 and 5% interest subvention for individual e-auto owners.

“Fully electric buses will be at least 50% of all new buses procured for the city fleet starting with the induction of 1,000 electric buses in 2019. Substantial incentives to private stage-carriage vehicles of all sizes to ensure electric vehicles make up at least 50% of the entire public transport system in Delhi by 2023,” the statement said.